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It would not be right to not include some photographs of
"that other airplane", the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. To their credit,
they suffered through the early, formative days of the development of strategic
daylight bombing; something the British had tried and found to be excessively
costly in aircraft and personnel losses.
They made trips into occupied enemy airspace in small, but
growing, numbers and did not have the benefit of long range fighter cover.
The North American designed P-51 Mustang, married with the Rolls-Royce Merlin
engine, became the first fighter to escort the bomber formations deep into
Germany.
The B-17 traces it's design back to Boeing's Model 299, a four engine heavy
bomber capable of carrying up to 6,000 pounds of bombs in the mid-1930's.
The addition of armor plates and more gun stations reduced the bomb load except
for short missions when less fuel could be carried.
The design of the B-17 with it's thick, low-wing shape made it a some-what
easier aircraft to fly in formation, especially at altitudes above 20,000 feet.
The B-24's 'Davis' wing, a later design, was faster in the air, but at altitude
could be a handful to fly (according to other B-24 pilots).
The following photographs are from the Lockheed-Martin library. The Vega
aircraft production facility in California was purchased by Lockheed.
B-17's in flight
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B-17G
Port-quarter view of a B-17G (note the chin turret fired by the bombardier). |
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View from above
This is the distinctive view of a B-17 as seen from above. Note the tapered wing design with a thick cord (distance from the leading edge of the wing to the trailing edge at the wing root). |
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Side View of a B-17E
Here's the distinctive shape of a B-17E as seen from the left side. The E Model was the first to add a tail gun position with twin .50 caliber (12.7mm) machineguns. |
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B-17G from below
View from underneath. You can clearly see the chin turret and the ball turret gunner positions. |
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Nose-on low view
This was the 'safest' position for German fighter to attack from as only the ball turret gunner could get a shot until the addition of the chin turret on the B-17G's. |
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B-17G on takeoff
Here's a G model on takeoff. Note the Lockheed Constellation airliners (triple tails) in the background. |
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Early model B-17 on takeoff
Note the ball turret is always showing. The ball turret does not retract like the B-24. |
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War Bond Tours
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Movie star names aircraft
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Crew picking up a new plane
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Returning Veterans
Here's a crew that completed their tour talking to the Vega workers, telling them of the importance of their jobs. |
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Second Generation Name
Here's the new crew for Jack the Ripper II. |
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Headed for the Pacific
This B-17 is destined to head to the Pacific to serve with MacArthur's forces. |
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B-17 Aircraft Production
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Cleaning the Bombardier's window
Probably the best view in the air. |
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Rosie the Riveter
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Here's a good view of the chin turret on the B-17G's. |
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Engine run-up at night. |
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Mating wing sections together. |
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Engine sub-assemblies. |
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A good example of America's industrial might. |
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Hugh aircraft producton capabilities |
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Aircraft ordered in the 1942 contract (note the '2' as the first number of the tail number). |
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Fuselage and engine subassemblies get put together. |
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Roll out of a new model B-17F, ready to head to England. |
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B-17 in a drying building after receiving her warpaint. Later models would not be painted as this saved several hundred pounds of weight. |
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Rivetting was a two-person job - one to run the rivet hammer and the pther to hold the metal 'buck' that flattened out the rivet. |
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Checking the prog governor wiring. |
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Working on the entry/escape hatch for the tail gunner. |
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